The Sevenoaks & District Motor Club

The Acorn March 2009

Founded 1954

In memory of Gordon “Biggles” Franks who passed away peacefully 3rd March.

Top: Andy Elcomb with Gordon at a sprint.

Below left: Giving Andy Webber’s Elan a go at North Weald.

Below Right: Astride hairy looking bike at Salzburg, Austria, 1987.

Bottom Left: Gordon in the Penny Tri-Plane at the Biggin Hill Air Show of 1997.

Bottom right: Gordon in his PUG 206 which he sprinted with a modicum of success.

Photos borrowed from Colin Shipway and The Biggin Hill Airport Bugle with thanks.

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Sevenoaks and District Motor Club Ltd. PRESIDENT: J Symes VICE PRESIDENT: V EIford

ACORN MAGAZINE March 2009

The Editor, Committee and Club do not necessarily agree with items and opinions expressed within ACORN magazine

OFFICERS and COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN, Chin, TROPHY RECORDS chin@btinternet.com KEEPER: VICE CHAIR; Dawn Travers, ACORN EDITOR, dawn.travers@ntlworld.com CHILD PROTECTION OFFICER: SECRETARY: Rosemary Mead, secretary@sevenoaksmotorclub.com MEMBERSHIP SEC: Andy Elcomb, andyelcomb@yahoo.com TREASURER: Clive Cooke, clive.v.cooke@virgin.net COMPETITION SEC., Ian Crocker, WEBMASTER: ian@seight.com SPEED LEAGUE David Balderson, CHAMP CO-ORD: balderson@ntlworld.com RALLY SECRETARY: Iain Gibson, Tel: 01474 873573 CHIEF MARSHAL: Philip Fawcett, marshal_7oaks@hotmail.co.uk SOCIAL SECRETARY: Situation Vacant – If you are interested in helping to organise the club’s social events, please contact a member of the committee. PRESS & PR: Suze Bisping, suze_bisping@yahoo.co.uk PRESS & PR: Steve Thompson, stevthom1@hotmail.com WITHOUT PORTFOLIO: Chris Scudder, chris.scudder@virgin.net WEB ACORN: Ralph Travers, ralph.travers@ntlworld.com

Website - www.sevenoaksmotorclub.com

PLEASE NOTE: COPY DATE FOR APRIL ACORN WILL BE MARCH 20TH

You can e-mail copy to dawn.travers@ntlworld.com I will also accept copy on disc or CD-Rom; on paper (typed or handwritten) or by ‘phone for juicy gossip.

Wednesday 18th March 2009 Bowling Night at Tunbridge Wells Bowlplex, Knights Park.

Contact organiser Nigel Mead to book NOW!

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Speed Season starts here

7Oaks & DMC organising a Nat B Sprint

On Sunday 5th April at North Weald Airfield, Epping Essex.

Regs are available to download from the club website at

www.sevenoaksmotorclub.com or from Keith Crocker

Email: keithcrocker@btinternet.com

or Tel 07766 020934 or 01732 860099 Please – no calls after 9.30pm

Editorial Ramblings

M arch sees the opening of the speed season and the Formula 1 season. There have been some interesting developments with first the

demise of the Honda Team due to the credit crunch and then a return for the Honda Team with Ross Brawn at the helm and a different name, in time for the first race in Australia. Interesting stuff. McLaren’s Ron Dennis steps back and there’s the return of the TV coverage to its proper home, BBC. I do hope they get the old theme tune back, I have missed that iconic bass rift from Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain. And we can watch the races safe in the knowledge that we won’t miss a crucial overtaking manoeuvre because of a few words from the advertisers.

Our friends at B19 are holding their shakedown sprint on 15th March and hopefully some of you are supporting the event to help find those loose ends in your car preparation that may need tying before the championship rounds start.

You will find details of the HANGAR 111 AEMC Sprint Championship within this edition. Registering with the AEMC and the ASEMC championships, means you get more choice of events to enter and choose. And of course don’t forget to register for our very own Sevenoaks Speed League. The first Speed League event is our own sprint on Sunday 5th April at North Weald. Regs are out on the club’s website or from Keith Crocker at keithcrocker@btinternet.com. We also need marshals for this event so please get in touch with Phil Fawcett, our Chief Marshal, to offer your services. Monthly Mug

If anyone bought a copy of February’s Practical Performance Car, you may have read a double page spread article, with very pretty photos, of Darren Tyre’s lovely Frogeye Sprite. The committee decided to award Darren the February Mug for his effort in get-ting himself into the magazine and mentioning our club too!

It appears at the time of writing that there hasn’t been much interest in the Social Night this month so far. The bowling evenings have always been quite well supported down at Maidstone so I do hope that a change of venue isn’t the reason. Tunbridge Wells is accessible for members in Kent and hopefully Nigel Mead has been rewarded for his hard work in setting the evening up and some more people have come forward to have a play.

The April social is our Annual General Meeting at The Bell in Kemsing and hopefully will be well at-tended. The Club Accounts can be found in this issue for your perusal before the meeting and hopefully this means you have more time to think about any ques-tions you may have for your committee. If you can’t make the meeting on the night, you can ring or email your questions and suggestions for the AOB part of the meeting to either Chin, Clive or myself.

Don’t forget to volunteer to help out at the forth-coming sprint Phil Fawcett is ringing round for mar-shals, please make his day by saying yes! Dawn Travers

Sevenoaks & District Motor Club Annual General Meeting to be held at The Bell, Kemsing Wednesday 15th April 2009 starting at 20.30

Agenda

1. Chairman’s Introduction 2. Present. 3. Apologies for absence. 4. Minutes of the previous AGM. 5. Chairman’s Report. 6. Treasurer’s Report: 7. Adoption of accounts / appointment of accountants. 8. Election of Officers: The President, Vice- President, Officers & Directors all resign as required. All those resigning are prepared to stand again for the time being unless there are any other nominations for their positions. Nominations for new committee mem bers are welcomed. 9. Any Other Business. Club accounts for year ending 2008 can be found in this edition of Acorn.

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COMPETITION CALENDAR 2009 FORTHCOMING EVENTS

DATE EVENT ORGANISING CLUB / Contact LOCATION Status Open To/

Champ Round

13th March 12 Car Rally

Using Map 177 E3 edition

7Oaks & DMC (for Weald MC): Entries and offers of marshals to Chris Scudder 07711 078552 or email chris.scudder@virgin.net

Starting Lay by on A20 opposite

Scratchers Lane MR 177 565654

CS

15th March Car Trial 7Oaks & DMC (for Weald MC): For Regs and en-tries contact Clive Cooke 01732 353814 clive.v.cooke@virgin.net

Stoneacre Farm Otham, Maidstone

Kent ME15 8RS MR188 / 800536

CS

18th March Bowling Night—Social

7Oaks &DMC: Call Nigel Mead to book your place NOW! 01892 832420 or email: secretary@sevenoaksmotorclub.com

Tunbridge Wells Bowlplex, Knights

Park Social

19th March Scatter Rally Maidstone & MKCC (for Weald MC): Call Tom Solo-mon for details Tel: 07836 636622 or email: tomsk24@aol.com

TBC CS

29th March Car Trial

Maidstone MKCC (for Weald MC): Regs and Entries—Bruce Jenkins Tel : 01622 842327 Mobile: 07594 310340 or Email: bajenkins@btinternet.com

Stoneacre Farm Otham, Maidstone Kent ME15 8RS MR188 / 800536

CS

March 20/20 Rally Weald MC (Bexley MC): Contact Willie Williams for more information Tel: 0208 698 1048 or email: wilcat@tiscali.co.uk

TBC CS

2nd April Scatter Rally 7Oaks & DMC (for Weald MC): Entries to Andy Elcomb Tel:01622 884856 or email: andyelcomb@yahoo.com

CS

5th April Sprint Sevenoaks & DMC: For regs and entries contact Entries Sec. Keith Crocker Email: keithcrocker@btinternet.com or download regs from www.sevenoaksmotorclub.com

North Weald Airfield, Epping, Essex Nat B

7oaks SL; Others

TBC

5th April 12 Car Regularity Run

Blackpalfrey MC (for Weald MC): Entries to Andy Gibson 01227 792740 or check out www.blackpalfrey.co.uk for an entry form.

TBC CS

5th April Car Trial Croydon & DMC (Weald MC): Contact Keith Young Tel: 01622 861288 or email; furtherfields@aol.com

Further Fields Farm, Caring Lane, Leeds,

Maidstone, Kent ME17 1TJ

CS

10th April 12 Car Rally CENSUS MC (for Weald MC): Call Matt Fowle for details on 01273 551145 or email: mattmdfowle@yahoo.co.uk

TBC CS

7th May Grass Autotest (Summer Series

Opener)

7Oaks & MC (for Weald MC): Entries and Offers of help to Stacey Thompson Tel: 0208 3002609 Farningham CS

Saturday 9th May

Miglia Quadrato 2009

UHULMC: Regs for this event can be obtained from Dave Lygoe Eve Tel: 0208 363 9850

City of London starting at Midnight CS

21st May Grass Autotest (Summer Series)

7Oaks & MC (for Weald MC): Entries and Offers of help to Stacey Thompson Tel: 0208 3002609 Farningham CS

24th May Hughes Rally

Blackpalfrey MC (for Weald MC): Entries to Andy Gibson 01227 792740 or check out www.historicroadrally.co.uk/hughesrally for more infor-mation.

TBC

For further information contact :-

Competition Secretary: Ian Crocker 01892 546006 email: ian@seight.com

Speed League contact : David Balderson, 01689 601661 email: balderson@ntlworld.com

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Scatter Season 2008-09

Dates of the forthcoming scatter rallies to be organised by 7Oaks & DMC and

Maidstone & MKCC for Weald MC. Next One: Thursday 19th March 2008 MMKMC Contact Tom Solomon Thursday 2nd April 2008 SDMC Organiser Andy Elcomb

Please check the Acorn main event

calendar for organisers and start venues each month. Regs available to

download from www.sevenoaksmotorclub.com

12 Car Season 2008-09

Dates of the forthcoming 12 Car rallies to be organised by 7Oaks & DMC, B18, Croydon

DMC and Census MC for Weald MC. Next One: Friday 13th March 2009 7Oaks Organiser: Chris Scudder 07711 078552 and leave a message; 01474 703346 evenings before 09:00PM or E-mail chris.scudder@virgin.net Friday 10th April 2009 CENSUS Organiser: Matt Fowle—01273 551145 Main organisers for each of the organising Weald clubs will be: Entries for the Croydon promoted events to: Peter Turner, daytime telephone/fax: 01883 623465 Mobile: 07778 857160 Email: apt.design@btinternet.com Entries for the Sevenoaks promoted events to: Chin. Tel— Home: 01732 823132 Work: 020 8691 6221. Email: chin@btinternet.com Entries for the Borough 18 promoted events to: Roger McKenzie, Tel: 01732 884312. Email: rmckenzie@playleandpartners.co.uk Entries for the Central Sussex (CENSUS) pro-moted event to: Matt Fowle, Tel Home: 01273 551145 Work: 01273 416331 Email: matt@mdfowle.freeserve.co.uk

Regs and entry form available to download from www.sevenoaksmotorclub.com

Club Social Calendar What’s On in 2009?

Wednesday 18th March Bowling Night at Tunbridge Wells Bowlplex, Knights Park

Choices are:

1. Bowling only (1 game = about 1 hour) £5.00/person with deposit of £2.00 per person payable 1 week before date. 2. Bowling + meal package (2 games = 2 hours) plus meal choice of hotdog/burger/chicken or one veg dish and chips £12.99. Payment in full required by 11th March.

A booking of four lanes has been made (enough for 20 people) so please call Nigel Mead on 01892 832420 or by email to: secretary@sevenoaksmotorclub.com to book you place and preference.

Wednesday 15th April Annual General Meeting of the Sevenoaks District Motorclub to be held at The Bell, Kemsing. Starts promptly at 8.30pm

Wednesday 20th May Quiz Night—rescheduled due to lack or participants in January. Chin has been busy compiling devious and not so devi-ous questions to test your skill. Bring a team or join up with mates on the night for a fun evening. The Bell, Kemsing from 8.30pm.

Tuesday 26th May 2009 Scalectrix Night is to be rescheduled to be held at Hadlow Manor Hotel, Hadlow Nr Tonbridge. Watch this space for further details.

Wednesday 17th June Film Night at The Bell Kemsing—If you have anything Motorsport related of inter-est to bring along preferably on VHS or DVD, please come along or ring a commit-tee member.

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7Oaks Scatter 19th February 2009

S ix hard(l)y crews went out to battle on 19th Feb - battling not only Nigel & Rosemary Mead's excellently crafted competition, but also battling

the road conditions. Whilst the weather was good and the roads were

mostly clear of mud and certainly no ice or snow, there were plenty of mantraps in the form of potholes to con-tend with.

The little Arosa (or Arouser as Comp Sec Ian likes to call it—he is a bit weird) is quite fleet of foot but doesn't like the holes at all. Having previously suffered a blown tyre near Mereworth last time, I'd replaced the standard 185/55/14 tyres with 185/60s and that extra bit of give definitely helps with most but doesn't stop my navigator Daren Hall "oofing" and "arghhing" when we can't avoid the hidden or nasty ones.

Still, we managed to return with the car intact (unlike the week previous when, on Borough 18's 12-car, I managed to take out a fog lamp and damage the wheel arch liner attempting a very tight hairpin not a mile from the scene of the tyre-bursting pothole.. but that's another story).

The area covered most of the bumpiest lanes to the south of Maidstone but as ever the Meads had concocted a lot of easy plots and when in the right place they were ok to find - just as long as your navi-gator has looked up the correct question that is!

We were very lucky at one spot because on arrival Daren had said I was to look for some details on a manhole cover. But when we got there we found the "Old Fogies" team of Chin navving for Chris Judge in Chris' s Rover - and Chris was looking at a chain and padlock.

Hmm, strange. Particularly as Chris seemed quite happy as he trundled back to his car so I took the hint and got Daren to double-check the clue.

Sure enough, he'd not put the question number down clearly enough on the map and had looked up the wrong clue. Soon sorted though and away we went.

The moral of this is, no matter how experienced you are, make sure you mark the map clearly and save yourself a lot of time and frustration!

At another plot we came across recent members Nick Powter and Glyn (Willie) Williams in Nick's re-cently acquired Corsa. When last seen it had its bon-net up at the start, with Nick adding water as it had overheated on the way in. That's how recent the car was to Nick - and how thoroughly (not) he'd prepped it! Still, that was all it needed and was fine on the event.

Now Willie's quite experienced and he and Nick have had some good results so Daren suggested that when Nick moves away from the door I pinch their car keys so they can't beat us! Charming I thought, but like an obedient driver I did do just that.... However I did take pity on them and only pretended to throw the keys into the darkness and put them on the roof in-stead.

The moral of this anecdote is of course if you can't beat 'em - cheat!

Also seen out in the darkness were Darren Tyre and Tracey Neil in their top-down Eunos - they must

be keen! Tracey was delighted to find at the finish that they hadn't come last - they'd beaten the Fogies. Well done chaps, the practice is paying off.

Kevin & Tarna Ablitt were also out and about in their Corsa, as were the Maidstone crew of Gavin and Ray Lane in their little pickup, and all came back in one piece - albeit I think the Fogies may have been a few minutes late which cost them 5th place.

A fun, cheap night out - as ever, quite why we get some total novice crews out on 12-Car rallies when they haven't practiced doing scatters first is quite beyond me.

The next 7Oaks scatter will be my event on Thurs-day 2nd April and I hope to see a few more of you out there. No excuse - it's cheap and fun and you don't have to be brain of Britain or Sebastien Loeb in a WRC to do well. Any car at all will do, so why not find out what it's all about?

Andy Elcomb

Chin’s 20/20 (Feb 21st /22nd)

N ick Powter and myself always ones for a drive around the lanes got ourselves seeded at 8 for this 85 mile navigational road rally, for which

14 crews had entered. The mixture of cars at the start in Westerham gives

testament to the usefulness of these sorts of events. There were classics, estates and plenty of small hatchbacks, proof that the regular car sitting on your drive is certainly capable of the night’s activities.

The straight forward navigation handed out in the envelopes was not too testing, in fact Andy Kilby per-suaded wife Martine to sit in the hot seat - the first time for 31 years - and they did not finish last.

The route consisted of 20 time controls to visit and finished a stone’s throw from the services on the M20, where a nice cup of coffee and something to chew on could be had whilst waiting for the results to be de-clared.

Chin had made good use of the lanes and the tim-ing was spot on in our opinion, as we were nearly al-ways on the go with not too much hanging around for our minute and with the sections being quite short (about 4miles), it had the feel of a full blown road rally about it.

When the results were announced 0 fails 3 minutes was good enough for 4th overall and the bonus for me, was I had not been sick once, that makes 4 events on the bounce now.

We may not be getting clean sheets (0 fails/0 min-utes) just yet, but we are getting a clean car on the inside at the finish. ‘Willie’ Williams

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7Oaks Car Trial

O ur first trial of the year will be Sunday 15th March for your enjoyment! The ONLY reasons for cancellation will be ri-

diculously wet weather in the preceding week, or lack of entries. The former, you cannot do anything about, but the latter.......!! Regs and entry forms for this event are available from me or you can download them from the website at www.sevenoaksmotorclub.com, Hope to see y'all there, Clive Cooke Tel: 01732 353814 or email: clive.v.cooke@virgin.net

8th February Goodwood - Stage Rally

M ember Nigel Mummery has a new rally ride for 2009. The Ford RS200 looked incredible and attracted huge attention at Goodwood in

early February. However Nigel unfortunately suffered a whole lot of

problems that started with the car not firing up until after SS1 had finished! On their first stage (3) they had an alternator failure (overcharging at 18 volts and blowing the control fuses). After being towed back, they decided to run stage 5 on the battery and discon-nect the alternator. They started to press on a bit (the car is very quick when working!) when the engine let go, possibly a dropped valve. Nigel cited this as the worst rally of his life - with two tow-ins!

After not a good start Nigel was understandably disappointed but is determined to get some good re-sults with something different from the usual!

We wish Nigel all the best for the rest of 2009. Wanted Navigator for 2009 season

I’m planning on doing the 205 Rally Challenge this year and I’m looking for a navigator so if you are I’m looking for a navigator for 2009 good on the maps and fancy having a go please see my link on BRF. Im based in Rochester in Kent, so not essential you live nearby but may help. Ideally some experience on Pattersons Pace Notes 1 to 6 format would be good. The rounds I plan to do this year are:- Robin Hood 14/15 Mar - Practice Round Twyford Stages 19th April - Practice Round Twyford 2nd May - 205 Challenge Round Plains 16th May - 205 Challenge Round Midlands 19/20th June - 205 challenge Round Swansea Bay 18th July - 205 Challenge Round Lindisfarne 13th Sept - 205 Challenge Round RAC Rally - 15th Nov - 205 Challenge Round It would be nice to have an all 7 Oaks crew. E-mail me on robsartain@hotmail.com or for more info, view my post on the British Rally Forum http://www.britishrally.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=21834

“How to Build a Successful Low-Cost Rally Car”

I t happened that a copy of this recently released publication hit our desk. Written by that old repro-bate Phillip Young, it serves to demonstrate what

fun you can have in motorsport without spending for-tunes. Some of the cars highlighted may be somewhat quirky and not obvious rally cars, but all are shown to provide a huge amount of enjoyment for a limited capi-tal investment. How much to purchase and prepare a car to then use to successfully participate in the Mon-gol Rally, an event that starts in London and ends in Mongolia? Answer £5,000, double the original budget envisaged when £250 was spent on the e-bay pur-chase of an Austin Allegro, but still, for the result achieved, a modest sum.

It is a worthwhile read for anyone wanting to have a go at club motorsport for there is a huge amount of commonsense advice on how to prepare a car at mod-est cost such that vehicle reliability is significantly im-proved. Preparation is always a wise investment for remember “To finish first, you must first finish”. Published by Veloce, it retails at £16.99. John Symes

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Round 5 Rod Wray Championship

Weald Motor Club / B18 Motorsports Club

Car No. Driver Navigator Class Score Position 1 Non Starter 2 Nigel Mead Rosemary Mead N 2F 24 6 3 Mick Rose Craig McGurk N 3F 11 7 4 Chin Bob Stokoe E 1F 5 3 5 Clive Cook Kevin Ablitt E 2F 6 5 6 Andy Elcombe Darren Hall E 1F 6 4 7 Dave Town Mick Town E 0F 1 1 8 Howard Shaddock Keith Edwards E 3F 27 8 9 Nick Powter Glyn Williams E 0F 18 2

12 Car Rally February 13th - Results

T hank you all for coming out on a cold night especially the marshals and course crews. Well done to Dave and Mick! For the record the query over the expert handout at TC3 is correct as it states via the following in order if all

fails read the instruction and that’s what you got!!

Roger Sawyer

Three French Hillclimbs Extend hand of Friendship.

T hree fantastic hills in three weeks…… The three top hilclimb venues in the west of France St Goueno in Brittany, Hebecrevon in Normandy and La Pommeraye in the Pays de Loire have joined forces to welcome drivers from the UK and Ireland to take

part in their events this May. All three are national status events held on closed public roads and are part of the Championat de France de la Montagne which is considered to be the one of the best in Europe. La Pommeraye is situated between Nantes and Angers and at 250km from St Malo is the furthest away. The 2.5km course run up through a vin yard which produces the well-known Anjou wines. The middle section of this course is famous throughout France for it’s long flowing esses which are taken at well over 200 kph…. if you are brave enough. Hebecrevon’s course has a length of 2.2 km, it is narrow at the beginning but then joins the route nationale, which is very wide and flowing, cornering speeds have to be seen to be believed. The paddock is literally the vil-lage with the most sought after pitches being adjacent to the bar. St Goueno’s 3.2 km course winds its way up through a wooded valley, a bit like Wiscombe park in Devon only much longer and much faster. St Goueno is also famous for it’s evening soirees and it’s 350 volunteers. Any MSA licence will enable drivers to take part in the GB Masters demonstration runs which are fully timed. Cars are subject to a few safety requirements. All three events are run by not-for-profit associations who are keen to make new friends and to show the French spectators how it is done a l’Anglais. Trailer storage is available for those wishing to return home between events. La Pommeraye 9/10 May. Hebecrevon 16/17 May. St Goueno 23/24 May. For more information contact John LLOYD. Email: lloyd.john@wanadoo.fr

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Deadline for copy for the April edition is 18th March. Anything received after this date may not be included.

Miglia Quadrato - Night of 9th/10th May 2009 City of London

U nited Hospitals and University of London Motor Club have issued Regs for this year’s Miglia Quadrato. For those of you who may not have heard of it, this is a competitive motoring event held entirely within the City of London, with the full co-operation of the

City of London Police. As a treasure hunt it is an exempt event - for which a certificate of exemption (number

50834) is issued by the MSA. The 2009 Miglia Quadrato is the fiftieth such event and will run on the night of 9/10 May starting at midnight.

It is unique in that it takes place entirely within the City of London. The challenge is to navi-gate on a 1:10000 map and to locate points to within a ten metre square - where the answer to a question should be sought. There are no cryptic or catch questions - but that is not to say the task is easy. Indeed, many seasoned crews return each year and competitors with full rally ex-perience will be as challenged as those with no such experience. It truly is an event for all. A history of fifty years attests to that. With its accessibility to crews of up to six it can be a very enjoyable social event. But if you prefer the two-crew format there is a separate classification for this. Every year we get entrants from around the country. The fact that many travel consid-erable distance and return each year is another indication of its appeal.

If you would like any further information please do not hesitate to email John Gilbert at uhulmc@k3g.net

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Snow defeats the Trialists

F alcon Motorclub’s Brickhill Trial, a round of the ASEMC Car Trial Championship, scheduled to run in February, was cancelled due to the heavy

snow conditions. It is now expected to run in May. The picture below shows the site the day before the event. Regards Ted Holloway

Karl Heim

W e were saddened to hear that on 9th January Karl Heim succumbed to the illness, which he had fought for the later

years, with the positive attitude that was typical of Karl. Older members of SDMC will recall the late sixties and seventies when Karl was a frequent and highly successful participant in what were then called “production car trials”. Usually driving a Mini Cooper S Karl had an uncanny knack in finding grip where it seemed to all others that there was no grip.

Karl’s skill was not limited to front engine / front wheel drive, it really did not matter what the vehicle was, for there was every chance Karl would get it further up any given hill than anyone else. An example of this was at one event being held at Nick Maltesos’ place at Ticehurst. A great venue for trials and with the venue entrance at the top of the slope the “final section” was to get the car out of the venue! Come the end of the event, generally with great difficulty, all but one partici-pant had got out the field and was parked at the roadside. Eventually it was Karl who got behind the wheel of the car, a car he’d never driven be-fore. He gently drove the car about on the flat area at the bottom of the hill for 30 seconds or so and then just turned up the hill and out of the gate, much to the bemusement of the car owner!

In later years Karl pursued his interest in older cars and in particular the Jaguar marque. Our sympathies are extended to wife Karleen and family. JOHN SYMES

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Invitation Events

W e have received an invite from the Aston Martin Owners Club to some of their events

Race Meetings Mallory Park 19th April Donnington Park 4th May Silverstone 30th May Snetterton 18th - 19th July Thruxton 12th September Oulton Park 3rd October Sprints Curborough 24th May Goodwood 11th July Curborough 3rd October If you would like any further information about any of the above, please let me know and I will try to find out more details of organisers for you. Ian Crocker Competition Secretary

Membership News

R enewals have been coming in steadily and if you still haven’t renewed your membership and wish to benefit from being part of Sevenoaks &

District Motor Club, please return your renewal letter and fees as soon as possible because this is your last Acorn.

We have had several new members and couple of previous members who have come back to the club, so a warm welcome to: Robert Nicholls from Meopham—interested in sprints, hillclimbs and racing; Alastair Heys from Rainham, Kent and he too is inter-ested in the speed and race side along with helping out (take note Mr Chief Marshal!); Nick Powter from Croydon known to us for some time on the scatter and 12-car scene through Bexley and expressed interest in the speed side as well as off road events and helping out too; Christopher Morton, James Birch and Mick Sulli-van from Bexley, Kent - interested in everything; John Nichols from Hailsham, in Sussex - road and stage rallying interests plus helping out. Ted Holloway Bexleyheath. Ted is another new member who is a familiar face through trialing, but has also ticked sprints & hillclimbs and helping; Paul Wickes along with wife Jane and daughter Elizabeth of Faversham, Kent will hopefully appear at our Summer autotests, trials and road rallies as well as offering help; Bernie Hook from Redhill, Surrey and Andy Bamford from Redhill Surrey (has the Ed been on a recruitment drive in her area??) Terry Armstrong from Copthorne, Sussex All joined after Weald Trial in October last year.

Yvette & Malcolm Knight (David Balderson’s daugh-ter and son-in-law) are going to have a go at compet-ing and helping at sprints, hillclimbs and autotests; Nick Clarke from Southampton hope to be out com-peting and helping at autotests and road rallies, as well as helping at stage rallies. Ben Koflach from Uckfield, a student introduced by Rob Sartain, wants to compete in and help at autotests, road and stage rallies. Welcome back after a short absence to Geoff Weeks and his stepson Matt Smith, who are interested in road rallies, sprints, hillclimbs and racing. Geoff pre-pares BMWs for racing and instructs at Brands.

We hope to see you out and about at our events in the near future. Andy Elcomb Membership Secretary

Some Parental Advice If you have persistently and lovingly tried to give children wisdom and they haven't taken it, don't be hard on your-self. THINGS TO THINK ABOUT! 1. You spend the first two years of their life teaching them to walk and talk. Then you spend the next sixteen telling them to sit down and shut up. 2. Grandchildren are God's reward for not killing your own children. 3. Mothers of teenagers now know why some animals eat their young. 4. Children seldom misquote you. In fact, they usually repeat word for word what you shouldn't have said 5. The main purpose of holding children's parties is to remind yourself that there are children more awful than your own 6. We childproofed our homes, but they are still getting in. FINALLY- ADVICE FOR THE DAY: Be nice to your kids. They will choose your nursing home one day!

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DO YOU FEEL THE NEED FOR SPEED WITHOUT GETTING A TICKET

THEN THIS IS FOR YOU!

THE 2009 HANGAR 111 AEMC SPRINT CHAMPIONSHIP

Classes for all types of cars. We have a class to cater for all types of vehicles and the overall championship is

decided on class positions. Category A: Standard Production Cars (Excluding Four Wheel Drive, Kit Type Cars and Replicas) Category B: Road Going Saloon and Sports Cars (Excluding Kit Type Cars and Replicas) Category C: Road Going Kit Type Cars and Replica Cars (Inc Lotus 7, Elise, Exige, Sylva, Caterham and Westfield Cars) Category D: Modified Production Sports and Saloon Cars (Excluding Kit Type Cars and Replicas, Lotus 7, Elise, Exige, Sylva,

Caterham and Westfield Cars) Category E: Single Seater and Sports Libre Cars

Calendar There are 20 rounds, from mid March to late October, counting towards the championship using venues at North Weald, Debden, Hethel (Lotus test track), Longrcoss, Lydden, Goodwood, Abingdon, Curborough, Bentwaters Park and

Honington. The best 10 scores will count towards the championship. Event Supplementary regs will be sent to each registered competitor, so no need to chase around for regs.

For a full set of championship details and a registration form please give me a call,

email me or visit the AEMC website.

Chris Deal 020 - 7826 - 4896 (work), 07833 - 086780 (mobile) aemc@chrisdeal.force9.co.uk (email), www.aemc.org.uk (web site)

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AEMC Sprint Championship Rounds: Date Venue Club 1. Sunday 15th March North Weald Borough 19 MC 2. Sunday 5th April North Weald Sevenoaks & DMC 3. Sunday 19th April Honington Borough 19 MC 4. Sunday 26th April North Weald Green Belt MC/HarrowCC 5. Saturday 2nd May Curborough (long) BARC (Mids) 6. Sunday 10th May Debden Herts County 7. Sunday 17th May Bentwaters Parks Borough 19 MC 8. Saturday 6th June Lydden (am) Rochester MC 9. Saturday 13th June Abingdon Sutton & Cheam MC 10. Saturday 20th June Lydden Borough 19 MC 11. Saturday 27th June Goodwood Tunbridge Wells MC 12. Sunday 12th July Debden Borough 19 MC 13. Sunday 19th July Longcross Sutton & Cheam MC 14. Sunday 2nd August Hethel Borough 19 MC 15. Saturday 8th August Curborough (long) BARC (Mids) 16. Saturday 15th August Lydden 7 Oaks/London Irish 17. Saturday 12th September Brands Hatch (am) Tunbridge Wells MC 18. Sunday 20th September North Weald Harrow CC/Green BeltMC 19. Sunday 4th October Debden Herts County 20. Saturday 24th October Lydden (am) Rochester MC

DRIVER NAVIGATOR CAR NO. PLACE FAILS MINS

Dave Bushby Dave Clark 1 7= 0 8 Nigel Mead Rosemary Mead 2 12 3 36 Dave Town Ben Greenfield 3 1= 0 0 Andy Kilby Martine Kilby 4 11 2 26 Tim Smith Simon Bell 5 10 1 0 Mick Rose Craig McGurk 6 9 0 17 Steven Winter Christopher Winter 7 6 0 7 Nick Powter Willie Williams 8 4 0 3 Maria McKenzie Roger McKenzie 9 7= 0 8

Lee Bezuidenhout Jason Tee 10 13 10 22

Trevor Hawkins Simon Ingarfield 11 DNF 34 0

Kevin Lawrence Andrew Hollingham 12 3 0 2 Andy Miles Alicia Miles 13 5 0 5

Dave Goulding Matt Clark 14 1= 0 0

Chin’s 20/20 February 21st/22nd 2009— Final Results

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MSA

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SA: E

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Issued 10th

February 2009 a.dean-lewis@msauk.org

e-Wheels anniversary

This is the 12th issue of e-Wheels, which was first produced in March 2008 to replace the

long-running paper-based Wheels. Hopefully, one of the aims of the digital format – to make

it easier and cheaper for the information to be disseminated to club members – has been

achieved.

If a paper copy is required, or to access back issues, Word and pdf versions of e-Wheels can

be downloaded from the MSA website www.msauk.org by clicking on MSA

publications>Wheels>e-Wheels.

As always, we welcome your feedback, on both the content and the technology, and would

be interested to hear of innovative ways of circulating the information to your members.

Please send your comments to: Allan Dean-Lewis, Head of External Affairs, MSA at the email

address above.

MSA 2009 Competitors' and Officials' Yearbook correction – fuel testing

As mentioned in e-Wheels January 2009 and repeated here for emphasis, regulation changes

with regard to fuel testing were ratified by the Motor Sports Council at its meeting on 4

March 2008 and duly published in the Spring 2008 issue of Motor Sports Now! – the

quarterly MSA publication sent to licenced officials and competition licence holders.

However, these changes were omitted from relevant sections of the 2009 Competitors’ and

Officials’ Yearbook (the so-called Blue Book which is sent to licenced competitors) but can

now be viewed on the MSA website at www.msauk.org >Clubs>Publications>MSAYearbook

MSA Club Development Fund

During 2008, the MSA Club Development Fund grant aided applications from MSA Clubs for

purchase of safety related equipment (radios, fire extinguishers etc) and assisted venue

improvement projects in a total amount of £80,559 and this has enabled projects with a

total value of £281,238 to be undertaken to benefit the sport. Over the last 14 years since

the Fund started, the MSA has provided grant aid of £636,983 to assist projects worth a total

of £2,990,390 to the sport. The Club Development Fund continues for 2009.

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MSA

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MSA Rescue Development Fund

Run in tandem with the Club Development Fund (and using the same application form), the

Rescue Development Fund enables enhanced funding for the replacement and renewal of

rescue and recovery equipment to MSA specifications, and even to assist the purchase of

new or replacement rescue units. In 2008, the MSA made awards of £51,730, making its

contribution total £99,482 since the scheme was started in 2007 – which has enabled rescue

and recovery unit related projects with a total value of £278,198 to be funded during that

time.

Grants for defibrillators

For 2009, MSA Regulations make it mandatory for MSA Licensed Rescue Units to have a 3-

lead AED – a defibrillator with a monitoring facility. A number of rescue unit operators had

previously bought defibrillators (even though they were not an MSA requirement at the

time) which may not meet the MSA minimum specification. The Rescue Development Fund

has therefore made a commitment to grant aid the purchase of new defibrillators for MSA

Licensed Rescue Units in the sum of £750 each. With around 60 operational rescue units,

this is a significant total amount of grant aid on offer during 2009 of around £45,000.

Applying for grant aid

Both the Club Development Fund and Rescue Development Fund are partnership schemes

and – dependent on the nature of the application – grant aid can be provided in appropriate

cases for either a percentage award or a fixed grant award. Application forms can be

downloaded from the MSA website. Applicants are strongly recommended to discuss their

proposals with Allan Dean-Lewis or Richard Nunn at the MSA prior to submission, so that

suitable advice to guide the effectiveness of any subsequent application can be offered.

Winter club nights

Together with useful publications about marshalling and rescue techniques, the Motorsport

Safety Fund has an excellent DVD for sale. The 5-in-1 Safety DVD has sections on first aid,

marshalling, safety considerations for competitors, firefighting and motor sport rescue

techniques. It costs £10 including postage and packing from Motorsport Safety Fund, PO Box

200, Sevenoaks TN15 8WZ.

ENDS.

Sevenoaks & District Motor Club Limited

Profit and Loss Accountfor the Year Ended 31 December 2008

31.12.08 31.12.07Notes £ £

TURNOVER 16,022 18,002

Cost of sales 13,442 12,933

GROSS PROFIT 2,580 5,069

Administrative expenses 6,333 5,953

(3,753) (884)

Other operating income 391 580

OPERATING LOSS 2 (3,362) (304)

Interest receivable and similar income 1,166 1,372

(LOSS)/PROFIT ON ORDINARY ACTIVITIESBEFORE TAXATION (2,196) 1,068

Tax on (loss)/profit on ordinary activities 3 - 155

(LOSS)/PROFIT FOR THE FINANCIAL YEARAFTER TAXATION (2,196) 913

The notes form part of these financial statements

Page 3

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Sevenoaks & District Motor Club Limited

Balance Sheet31 December 2008

31.12.08 31.12.07Notes £ £ £ £

FIXED ASSETSTangible assets 4 1,618 2,022Investments 5 1 1

1,619 2,023

CURRENT ASSETSStocks 3,978 195Debtors 6 450 573Cash at bank 42,623 48,238

47,051 49,006CREDITORSAmounts falling due within one year 7 345 508

NET CURRENT ASSETS 46,706 48,498

TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENTLIABILITIES 48,325 50,521

RESERVESOther reserves 8 5,000 5,000Profit and loss account 8 43,325 45,521

48,325 50,521

The company is entitled to exemption from audit under Section 249A(1) of the Companies Act 1985 for the year ended31 December 2008.

The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year ended31 December 2008 in accordance with Section 249B(2) of the Companies Act 1985.

The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for:(a) ensuring that the company keeps accounting records which comply with Section 221 of the Companies Act 1985

and (b) preparing financial statements which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company as at the end of

each financial year and of its profit or loss for each financial year in accordance with the requirements of Section226 and which otherwise comply with the requirements of the Companies Act 1985 relating to financialstatements, so far as applicable to the company.

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part VII of the CompaniesAct 1985 relating to small companies and with the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities (effective January2007).

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors on ... February 2009 and were signed on its behalfby:

........................................................................Director

The notes form part of these financial statements

Page 4

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Sevenoaks & District Motor Club Limited

Trading and Profit and Loss Accountfor the Year Ended 31 December 2008

31.12.08 31.12.07£ £ £ £

TurnoverEvent income 12,737 14,477Membership subscriptions 3,285 3,525

16,022 18,002

Cost of salesOpening stock 195 407Event expenses 17,225 12,721

17,420 13,128Closing stock (3,978) (195)

13,442 12,933

GROSS PROFIT 2,580 5,069

Other incomeOther income 391 580Deposit account interest 1,166 1,372

1,557 1,952

4,137 7,021

ExpenditureRent 1,103 1,159Printing, postage & stationery 2,228 1,416Advertising 82 339Insurance & subscriptions 120 328Maintenance 223 348Acorn expenses 1,520 1,366Sundry expenses 98 88Accountancy 345 353Donations 210 50

5,929 5,447

(1,792) 1,574

DepreciationPlant and machinery 268 336Computer equipment 136 170

404 506

NET (LOSS)/PROFIT (2,196) 1,068

This page does not form part of the statutory financial statements

Page 9

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Date Event Type Venue 19-Feb Scatter Clubsport 13-Mar 12 car Clubsport

15-Mar Car Trial Clubsport Stoneacre Farm 188/800536

02-Apr Scatter Clubsport TBA 05-Apr Sprint Nat B North Weald 07-May Autotest Clubsport Farningham 20-May 20/20 Clubsport 21-May Autotest Clubsport Farningham 04-Jun Autotest Clubsport Farningham 18-Jun Autotest Clubsport Farningham 02-Jul Autotest Clubsport Farningham 16-Jul Autotest Clubsport Farningham 26-Jul Autosolo Clubsport North Weald 09-Aug Autotest Clubsport Farningham

15/16 Aug Sprint Nat A/Nat B Lydden 11-Oct MV Trial Clubsport Kent - various 07-Nov 20/20 Clubsport 13-Nov 12 car Clubsport 15-Nov Trial Clubsport

10-Dec-09 Scatter Clubsport

Sevenoaks & DMC Club Events Calendar 2009

T he above list shows all of the various events that Sevenoaks & DMC will be or-ganising during 2009. It is not however, a complete listing of all events that Sevenoaks members are eligible to compete in. The club is a member of 6 re-

gional associations, these being the Association of South Eastern Motor Clubs, As-sociation of Eastern Motor Clubs, Association of Central Southern Motor Clubs, Association of South Western Motor Clubs, Association of West Midlands Motor Clubs and the London Counties Association of Motor Clubs. This means that as a Sevenoaks member, you can compete in any event run by another club that invites any one of these associations.

Additionally, all of the above events will score you points in the club's various cham-pionships such as the Rose & Crown, Tyrrell Fleming and the Chalky White. Don't for-get that if you are competing in the Sevenoaks Speed League, then you will have to marshal at one of these events in order to qualify you for a championship trophy should you be quick enough to win one.